Della Notte
by Cellotastic
Summary: It's possible for anyone to fall from grace, even the Moon. A young girl is led astray by her brother, and she's now where she wanted to be the most, but without a single clue of who she is to be called, or how she should be treated. Dark LinkXOC
1. The Fall

**Author's Note**

Hey there all of you reader type people. I am very, very proud to introduce to you, Della Notte, a story of hidden treasures and secrets, found in our very own backyard; that's right, Hyrule.

If you are a fan of my other story, Requiem of a Dream, don't get discouraged, that one's not on official hiatus. Midterms were this week, and I've been too busy to get near anything with any type of an internet pulse.

Well, I really hope you enjoy this story. I had to think long and hard about this one. Who knows, you may even see some familiar characters.

I do not own Legend of Zelda, nor any of the songs, unless specified otherwise. I admit that, to properly portray want I want, I will switch around the lyrics. This is the only time I will say this, and if you decide to point it out anyway, I will ignore you.

-

You speak to me,  
I know this will be temporary.  
You ask to leave,  
but I can tell you that I've had enough.

I can't take it.  
This welcome is gone,  
And I've waited long enough  
To make it.  
And if you're so strong,  
You might as well just do it alone.  
And I'll watch you go.

Step up to me,  
I know that you've got something buried.  
I'll set you free.  
You set conditions, but I've had enough.

Can't Take It by All American Rejects

-

All was quiet in Castle Town, a very average, typical Mid-Autumn's night. Maybe not quite a _typical_ night, but it was indeed quiet. The same quiet that lurks in the corners of the twilight, or that wisps through the fields of wheat in fall, when the harvest in right around the corner.

The moon had turned Her face from Hyrule that night, and in the absence of Her protecting gaze, much could go unpunished. It is a time of great unease, whenever She turns her face from the good people of Hyrule.

But, if you were to think about it, there had to be something that would make Her turn away, wouldn't there?

There would. For you see, as many of the lovely, simple folk did know the Moon personally, the could not think about the things that would occupy her attention. I could. I have stood with the Moon, and watched Her, and held the dreams of Her people.

I watched on, as only I could, when she fell from grace that night, leaving her back turned to Hyrule for what could very well be eternity.

-

-

-

Hyrule. My little, darling country, on my perfect little blue-green planet, just part of my brother's domain. Oh, how I loved her so, how I yearned to help my people, the people who were forced to cast their wishes to my companions, the stars. Who else in the universe can grant a wish but a star? No one. But my friends cared well for my people, and I could not begrudge them their fate.

I was looking down at her, one night when she was cloaked in night and darkness. But I then heard my brother calling my name.

I turned slightly, only enough to see a minimum of his fiery gaze. "Yes brother?" I replied, trying to look at him from the corner of my eye.

"Face me, my sister. I have not looked upon your face in so long; I fear I will find you shriveled as an old prune."

As would any being, celestial or not, I turned to face my brother. He was older than me by many, many years, but for us, years, decades, centuries mean nothing. Only eons of lonely solitude matter.

"Why…you're quite lovely, my little sister," he said as he laid a warm hand against my cheek. "Indeed; you've become a young woman. Mother would be very proud."

"As would Father be of you, my brother," I murmured into his cupped palm, anxious to return to my people.

"I have a gift for you, my darling sister," his said as he pulled his hand away. "I have spoken with Mother and Father-" I will admit, I gasped right then. One does not speak to our Mother and Father as easily as you do to your own. It is quite hard to find our Parents, let alone speak to them. "And have already discussed this with them. Mother said you are to accept this gift. It is theirs through me, and mine to you..."

Perplexed, I watched as my brother pulled a small object from his pocket, and took my hand in his, palm up. Swiftly, he pressed what felt like a small stone into my hand with all his might, and I felt myself losing consciousness…

-

-

-

When me and my brethren watched Her fall from beside her brother in the sky, we were outraged, appalled, and disapproving; but most of all, we were worried. She had fallen into Hyrule, her most beloved of countries, but also the most advanced. She would have difficulty adjusting, let alone finding her way back home.

I sighed, catching another wish in my outstretched hand, and reclined against the inky blackness of space. It would be a long year.

-

-

-

Pain. That was the first thing I was aware of. My right hand burned, like someone had placed and ember of the white hot variety into my skin. But I could not move, I could only bear the pain in silence, wherever I was.

After the pain passed, I was aware of a few different things, a few sensations, if you will.

Hair. I could feel hair brushing against my arms, moving slightly in the wind. I could hear water bubbling over stones and branches, into hidden hollows and the like in the riverbed. I could smell the flowers of the world, the lilies, the roses, and the lavender, and I could taste the sweet scents of noxious night and light starlight.

Then, I could feel my hands and my feet, my legs and my arms, and the joints and muscles that moved them. Before anything, I opened my eyes.

I was looking up, a strange enough sensation for me. For you see, in space, there really is no definite "up". There is only every direction, every possibility. No one can put a name to every possibility in the universe. But, as I was saying, up. I could see the stars, but not my lovely companions, cold pricks of light sewn into a dark cloth. My home…

I did not know how I could be looking up at my home until I considered the possibility I was no longer in space. Then, I could know I was looking at my home.

After that, I had looked around me, taking in the various things I could see, and savoring the wonderful feeling, the sort of relief behind the eyelids of looking at something enjoyable.

I was in a vast field, filled with tall wheat stalks, and dotted with proud oak trees. It was quite lovely, actually. There was a sort of _shuu_-ing noise that went along with the waving leaves and leaning wheat.

When I stood, I began to walk, slowly, as to not harm my delicate bare feet. I could see strands of black, silk like hair in from of my face, and knew that it would be a bit of a problem. I wasn't that sure where I was walking. I liked the feeling of the wheat brushing against my skin and the fabric of whatever clothing I was wearing. It was soft, and sort of tickled, like the star's laughter. Later, I would learn that it was feathers, the solid incarnation of star laughter, in pure, bright white.

Eventually, I came to a tree, and began to climb up it. There were no inhabitants in this old tree, and I resolved to make it my home. Shortly, I found myself peering out of the golden leaves, at the bright golden mass of light far ahead of me, with a structure jutting from the top. I did not know what it was, but I could see golden-pink creeping, like mistletoe vines over the horizon, and drew back into the leaves.

A few levels down in the tree, I found a hole of sorts in its enormous trunk, more than large enough for me to sleep in. After moving the dry moss and cotton fluffs into a comfortable position, I lie down, and fell quickly asleep.

I would dream, not of my home, my brother, or the strange structure to the west, but of horses, wonderful, galloping mustangs. They would come to my field, and wander through the wheat. They would leave the wheat alone, and would instead eat the grass around the trees. It would be a lovely first dream for me, and I would not soon forget it.

-

-

-

**Author's Note**

Please take notice that this is using the set-up of the Wii version of Twilight Princess. Now, I would truly appreciate a review to go along with your reading. Thank you in advance.


	2. Arrival

**Author's Note**

I feel so busy all of a sudden! Two stories to update, and a one-shot to write… I've actually decided to do this instead of playing the Wii, so count yourselves lucky.

By the way, there are a few spelling errors in the last chapter. I meant to fix them, but they slipped by me. Dang spell check doesn't even check to see if the words make sense, so long as they're grammatically correct.

Grr…

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm writing it the last day of first semester, since I have nothing else to do.

Is there anybody out there / That wakes up with a bitter taste?

It's a king that we put up there / And he's a short way to fall from grace.

And slowly failing upward / You can step but you have no ground.

I hear it from the lost words / They say it's time that you lost your crown.

Don't be so greedy / A dollar's a penny to you.

We're not upbeated / Say what you want 'em to do.

Wastin' away, I see you / When the top of the world, falls on you.

Top of the World by All American Rejects

The chittering and twittering of nearby birds woke me from my peaceful sleep, telling in their soft and sweet voices that the sun was coming, and I needed to rise. As gracefully as one can after sleeping in a tree hollow, raised myself up onto my elbows, and sort of crouched out of the hollow, hanging onto the nearby branches quite firmly.

It was then that I realized that, oddly enough, I wasn't wearing any clothing. My hair, thankfully, was long enough to be a modest cover, but it would not do long-term. I went to run a hand through the hair at the crown of my head, but found my small, slender fingers awkwardly catching in a metal device. I reached up, and gently pulled it off of my head.

The "metal device" was actually my circlet from back home. Made of silver, sapphires, emeralds and amethyst, it contained all of the pivotal colors of night. The center piece was an upside-down crescent moon, with a single amethyst at the center of its thickest region, flanked by two smaller emeralds. Two smaller crescents pointed towards my cheeks, with just a single sapphire in the thickest regions. A band of silver wove around in a circle, interrupted only by a ring of silver on each side, with two silver teardrops hanging off of it, with two pieces of a sheer fabric hanging at two different lengths between them.

I turned it over in my hands a few times before placing it back on my head, when I saw a flash on black on my palm. Gently, I brushed at it, thinking it was a bug of some kind, but winced when the damaged flesh protested the rough gesture. Upon closer inspection, I found that my right palm had been branded with a small piece of black stone, just beneath the surface, and spiraling vines radiated away from it. As carefully as I could, I examined the "wound", but found nothing worrisome about it.

Just then, a light breeze blew across the plain, and the golden wheat below me began to wave back and forth, some moving sooner than the other, and some bending in opposite directions. I could see far-off shapes and shadows moving amongst the wheat, their forms hidden from my eyes. Cautiously, I lowered myself into a sitting position, mindful of the bark against my sensitive skin. As I watched, the shapes came closer, and eventually stepped out of the cover of the tall plants.

I had, honestly, been expecting soldiers. You know the type. Rape, pillage and plunder, all that fun stuff. But when a congregation of animals stepped forward, I sighed with relief, and waved to them, hiding behind my hair.

There were quite a few horses, seven it seemed, counting a young Morgan foal. There was an even division of mares to stallions otherwise, ranging from Morgan to Clydesdales and even a Welsh Cob. Along with the horses, there was a tawny wolf, a lion, an eagle and a magpie jay, the latter of whom was perched upon the Morgan mare. All of them looked at me expectantly, and I made my way down the tree as quickly (and gracefully) as I could.

When I reached the foot of the tree, a liver chestnut Clydesdale stallion bowed his head to me, and spoke in a deep voice. Understandably, most mortals would find the idea of a speaking horse a little odd, but in the Heavens, there is only one language; the language of All Things. Anyone, even any_thing_ can speak the language. The problem is, that is dividing and labeling themselves, humans have lost the ability to speak or understand the language. It is a hard concept to explain.

"Dear lady, it has come to our understanding that you are, indeed, the Great Lady Moon. May you confirm or deny this, please?" he said, keeping eye contact while I circled around the tree to face them.

I couldn't help but smile. If you have ever spent time away from home, in a strange country, you can understand the relief it is to be back around someone who speaks the same language as you. "Why, yes, my dear stallion, I _can_ confirm that I am the Lady Moon you seek." I paused, and then continued. "But, I am not sure if I can still be called the Lady _Moon_, as it is apparent I have not retained my celestial form."

"No, you haven't!" said the young foal awkwardly, as if he had just learned to speak. It was then that I noticed a small bundle upon his back that he carried with obvious pride.

"Young foal, what is your name?" I asked gently, holding out my hand to him.

"My name is Reese, my Lady," he said, walking forward on his wobbly legs. "My mama told me that she had seen you out here in the field last night, and she said that we needed to bring you some of the strange things that the humans wear!" At that point, he had begun to prance back and forth excitedly. Giggling, I steadied him with a motion of my hand, and took the bundle from his back before it fell.

The animals watched on quietly as I opened the bundle, which contained a loose shirt and a skirt, both in rich, deep purples, reminding me of my home. I glanced at the sky, which was pale blue with the coming dawn. As far I could see, every star in the sky was shining bright, but one caught my attention. To mortals, it is called the North Star, but to me, it was Anamaria, my best friend from the night sky. I smiled, and waved to her broadly, and she shined so brightly for a moment, that she light up the entire field with her starlight.

I slipped the shirt over my head, and pulled the skirt up to sit on my hips. My midriff was visible until the bottom of my ribs, which was hidden in purple gossamer that intensified in thickness until my upper torso was shrouded completely. A silver belt held the skirt up, with was slit down the right side from upper thigh to bottom.

"My lady," said the magpie in her high, trilling voice, "I sincerely wish-"

I cut her off with a wave of my hand, and shaking my head, said, "Just because of who I am, do not speak to me as if I am one of those "royal majesties" that governs this planet. Please speak as you would normally. I have heard and watched you all long enough to know that you do not usually speak like this, save for the foal Reese, who was so kindly plain with me."

The magpie started, and, fluffing up her feathers a bit, continued. "Alright then, my Lady, I will be plain with you. The visage you carry presently, including your appearance and the lunar circlet about your head, is one that will attract unwanted attention."

"The circlet is easily dealt with, my friend. I can place it in the Hollow, and leave it there until I need it again. But what worries me is that which you say about my visage. What has changed?"

"Well, when I have flown high in the night in the past, I have seen glimpses of your true beauty. You look much different now," the magpie said, as if she was a bit sad.

"How have I changed, little magpie?"

"My Lady," the lion said gently, "when I have seen your image in the pools of the wild, I have seen a gentle, brown-haired, hazel-eyed woman, not a black monstrosity of your former appearance!" When he finished, he was nearly roaring.

The wolf snarled in fury, and, bristling, snapped, "Do not speak of our lady as if she is a monster!" He turned to me, and said, "My lady, the lion only means to imply that you resemble your former self, only that your features are…well, harsh, and angled much more than they previously were."

"In addition," said the eagle quietly, "your once lovely hair and eyes are now a most unpleasing black, like the black crystal of the Far Northern cliffs." At this, I started a little.

"Like…like the color of coal?" I said, my voice shaking a little. The stone in my hand could resemble a piece of coal.

"Yes! Just like a piece of coal!" exclaimed the foal.

"My friend eagle, could you help me please?" The eagle flew over to me, and alighted upon a low branch.

"Yes, my Lady?"

"Could you remove this from my palm?" I held up my right palm, and the eagle bent to examine it.

"I can try, but it will not be pleasant. Are you sure?"

"…yes."

The eagle leaned his head forward, and a sharp pain stabbed through my hand. As much as I wanted to cry out, I held back, and gritted my teeth against the pain. I heard the stone drop to the hard packed ground at my feet, and I pulled my hand back, and grasped my palm with my left hand.

"Are you okay?" Reese walked forward timidly, and sniffed at my burning palm. Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and he backed up quickly, and exclaimed, "Mama! Mama, her hand is bleeding!"

Suddenly, the animals around me had begun a frenzy, their words turning to barks, neighs, growls and the like. Only the eagle, ashamed of the act I had asked him to perform. In comfort, I reached out, and ran my hand slowly over the crown of his brown head, and down his neck, and repeated the act twice more before I let him be. By that time, the animals had settled, and were waiting for me to speak.

"Fret not my friends; this has done more good than harm. Yes, my hand is bleeding," I said calmly, and looked to my hand to emphasize, and flinched when I saw the silver blood on my palm. I had been utterly unaware that I would have a completely different chemical make-up than a mortal. Just as I began to speak, I heard a rather odd noise, like the chiming of deep, low bells. The sound rolled over the wheat like wind, and when it reached me, it sounded familiar.

"Oh…Natalae…what trouble you have gotten yourself into."

I heard the voice before I saw her, but I already knew who it was.

"…Anamaria." My mouth widened to a smile before I'd even turned around. It was not my friend as I had known her, but as the form she would have taken on Earth.

She had short, golden blonde ringlets, and bright smiling eyes. She was taller than I, but also willowier too. She held her arms out to me, shining faintly with stardust, as stars always do. Forgetting the animals, I rushed forward to embrace my friend.

The ground rushes up to meet me as stardust swirled around my body. I landed on my knees, but immediately turned to face Anamaria. She was smiling sadly, and shook her head, the insubstantial stardust trailing after her glowing "hair".

"Oh, Natalae, you are indeed the same as ever… Embrace my gift to you. It will aid you in the days to come…" Anamaria looked off towards the wheat, as if she heard someone calling her name. A faint glowing came from far off in the wheat, and she turned back to me. "Natalae, I've decided to take your place as the moon. You can't sway me in this. I've already decided. Besides, it's only until you come back home. But, I've found someone that can watch you for me in the meantime. Zant, come on out now."

I turned to see a figure walk out of the wheat, a glowing figure in the pre-dawn light. He looked odd, but as a celestial being, I know that many forms walk the Heavens. He looked young, and kind. With a smile, I nodded to him, and folded my hand over my heart, the traditional gesture for trust and acceptance. Zant nodded, and the two of them disappeared just as the first rays of light peaked over the horizon.

I had forgotten the animals, but they had not noticed, as the events had interested them as well. Finally, the lead stallion, the Clydesdale, cleared his throat, and said, "My Lady, I have just noticed that we have failed to be properly introduced. I am Lysander, the Head stallion of the Wilds. The magpie is Matilda, the eagle Edric, the wolf is Bacchus, and the fair Morgan mare over there is Selena, my mate. You have already met Reese, out foal. The lion is Terran."

Edric ruffled his feathers, and said in a level voice, "Old-eye the Owl has seen a terrible fate looming on the horizon, a fate that shall affect all who inhabit this planet. He has not seen the specifics; as his name says, his eyes are old, and the messages the stars write have become blurred in his eyes, save for the most unspecific details. He sees a horrible, horrible thing encroaching on the Event Horizon, and you are influential in stopping it…"

"But, obviously enough," Matilda chirped darkly, "we don't even know what this "thing" is, so we don't really know _how_ you're supposed to stop it…"

"Well," I said, lightly as I could, "we shall know soon enough."

And with that, the animals returned to whence they came, and I returned to the hollow where I would spend the rest of the day sleeping, in anticipation for the night.


End file.
